View of the Forsaken
by NukeMyWaffle
Summary: Something is TERRIBLY wrong. Both Sora and Riku have had their nights haunted by unusual clicking sounds. What's more, there seems to be an old enemy on the return. There is only ONE way to find out what's going on: through the VIEW OF THE FORSAKEN.
1. Click

I know--WHERE THE HELL HAVE I BEEN?--but there's not much I can do when my computer crashed and got infected....and then the repair didn't work...neither did the reinstallation. So, we had to take my Mini in and get it fixed by the professionals--about time, DAD, after 2 and a half weeks of NO computer.

Okay, this here is something that I started toying with when I heard about KH: Birth By Sleep (go to .com for all the 411) and it's going to be a multi-crossover, since there will be some new worlds Sora and company's going to be traveling to. And there will be some old, familiar faces and some new, modified ones.

Oh, and HEAVY SPOILERAGE.

Just so you know.

With each world I add, there will be another anime in the included animes above the title. Right now, it's only Kingdom Hearts, but that will change.

I promise.

* * *

Kingdom Hearts II

**"View of the Forsaken"**

**-**

**Chapter 1**

**"Click"**

**-**

"Aw, man! I've got a _lot_ of homework!"

Riku laughed at Sora's whining as the three friends walked home from school. "Come on, Sora. Homework shouldn't be a problem for the Keyblade Master."

"I'd take Organization XIII over school _any_ day." Sora muttered. "Can't defeat homework with the Keyblade."

"It's what you get for falling asleep in class." Kairi said, getting Sora to groan in reminder at the week of detention he had to look forward to starting tomorrow after school. "You said you went to bed early last night. What's got you so tired?"

"I dunno. I was restless all night." Sora half muttered with a slight whine. "I kept hearing clicks all night, like something was right next to my ear jus' going off. I couldn't tune it out no matter what I did. It was like it was inside my head."

"Clicks going off in your head?" Riku repeated, getting Sora to look at him. "Like soft ones and then a loud one?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah, just like that. How'd ya know, Riku?"

"I heard them, too. The only difference is that I wasn't sleeping." Riku told the other boy, purposefully ignoring the "Riku!" from Kairi.

"Why not, Riku?" Sora asked.

"It's the dark." Riku dragged his hand through a shadow they were passing, his fingers unwinding into swirls of shadows. "It's the side effect of my Keyblade. I feel energized in darkness. It's why I crash during the day when it's too bright out. Being out in the light too long makes me tired."

"But you've fought with us on other worlds." Sora pointed out. "How come you were tired then?"

"Because I was absorbing the dispersing shadows from the Heartless. It's an advantage that counters my light exhaustion." Riku said, dropping his hand before it hit the corner of a building. "It's like the fast recovery boost you get with some of your Keychains."

"Only with darkness." Sora added.

"Exactly." Riku nodded, shouldering his backpack better. "Y'know, we could always go down to the beach and spar before Wakka gets there and tells us to knock it off. And we could use Keyblades before he erupts and tries to kill us."

"Yeah, let's do it!" Sora cheered excitedly. "I've been wanting some action!"

"Uh, Sora, what about all that homework you said you had to do?" Kairi questioned, getting the blue-eyed brunette's attention.

"What about it?" Sora asked cluelessly.

"Relax, Kairi. He's got detention for a week. He can just do it all then." Riku cut in, getting a scowl from the blue eyed girl. "You know, you can always _join_ us with _your_ Keyblade."

Kairi gave him a look. "I don't think the Keyblade of the Realm of Light should be mixing with the Keyblades of Darkness and Twilight—and _neither_ should _yours_. There's no Heartless and no Nobodies. There's _no_ need for your two to pound it out on one another with your Keyblades just because the two of you are bored with nothing to destroy."

Riku leaned close to Sora, putting his arm around the shorter boy's neck. "Translation—she hasn't been able to summon it since we locked the World That Never Was."

"Riku!" Kairi half shrieked indignantly. "That's _not_ true! I'm just not into tempting _fate_ like you two idiots are!"

"Yep, she's been without it since we locked it." Sora agreed with a nod, seeing what Riku was doing. Kairi stopped walking with them, her hands on her hips and her blue eyes glaring at them venomously. Both boys stopped and looked at her. "Is there something the _matter_, Kairi?"

"I'll show you _both_ who can still use their Keyblade!" Kairi snapped at the two boys. "I'll meet you _both_ at the beach once you're done changing out of your uniforms—if _either_ of you have the guts to come up against me!"

The two boys just stayed put as Kairi stormed past them, heading home on her own. They exchanged a wary look until Kairi was out of sight. Then they snorted softly and started laughing. Kairi was so _predictable_ whenever it was insinuated she couldn't use her Keyblade. While Kairi _was_ their friend, both boys got tired of her just sitting on the side lines and scolding them for using their Keyblades to spar. And after the _last_ time she got Wakka, Sora and Riku had nearly gotten concussions from each getting a blitz ball to the head.

"She's gonna be _pissed_ once she gets to the beach." Sora remarked as the boys started towards home again.

"It's what she gets for trying to act better than us." Riku dismissed. "Plus, if she joined us, then she might be able to actually stand up for herself and then she wouldn't need one of _us_ to come rescue her every single time she managed to get herself captured."

"Well, yeah, that's true." Sora muttered in agreement. "It'd definitely make _my_ job easier if she put up more of a fight. That way I didn't have to hunt the sons of bitches down after they've gotten time to get stronger and study my moves from a distance. I'd rather just go in, kick their asses and move on."

Riku laughed and nudged him with his elbow. "Thinking about Xemnas again, huh, Sora?"

Sora partially grimaced at that reminder as he regained his momentarily off center balance. That last bad guy hadn't been all that "pleasant" to battle. Even months later, Sora was _still_ sore and he _still_ had the bruises from the son of a bitch's lucky shots and those damned flying _buildings_ of _all_ things.

"Man, I wish there was a Heartless or _something_ that required the Keyblade, other than just sparring. I miss all the battles. I want to see the worlds again." Sora sighed heavily. "I miss jus' being able to see all the stars and colors around me in the Gummi Ship. An' I miss practicing magic at Merlin's and seeing my summons come to life. Hell, I miss the hyenas in the Pride Lands."

"Quiet lives aren't for guys like you and me. We're made for the front lines and giving the quiet life to the _other_ guys." Riku told his friend, patting the brunette's back. "Personally, I'd like to go up against Sephiroth myself. Show him that just because I happen to look like him, it doesn't mean that I gotta like it."

"Yeah, I'm with you there." Sora laughed at the memory of Sephiroth calling Riku "Little Brother" and telling the 16-year-old that he'd be waiting for him to join him one day. Riku had let out various colorful phrases that basically summed up to "no way in Hell".

They paused at a crossroads and Sora earned a pat on the back as Riku went left. Sora gave Riku a wave before hustling to the right, both headed home to get changed. Sora shouldered his backpack better and put his arms behind his head, strolling along with a hum of some song he couldn't get out of his head since he and Roxas became one again. As Sora passed by a shop owner returning his shop, Sora heard the jingle of keys being taken from a pocket and the scrape of the key sliding into the lock.

…_**CLICK…CLICK…CL-LICK**_

Sora stopped dead and stared at the shop owner as he turned the door knob to reopen after his errand, the tumblers clicking. A chill of dread settled into Sora's gut as he connected the dots.

"…no…" He shook his head, walking backwards towards his house in shock. "…no…that can't…"

The door opened with a click, making Sora turn bolt towards home to get out of his uniform. This wasn't good. He had to get out of his uniform and dig the shoe box of Keychains out from under his bed. He had to make sure that he'd be prepared for any enemy that he came against and then he had to get to the beach to tell Riku and Kairi what those clicks that had kept him up all night were. They weren't going to like it because it _wasn't_ going to be good news.

* * *

Kinda creepy, huh?

Yeah, just a bit...well, at least it's SUPPOSED to be.

Let me know what you think.

Please read and review!

(And you'll get a cookie!!)


	2. Lets Go

This is same day, just a bit later. And yes-heavy spoilerage still applies.

For your entertainment pleasure...

* * *

Kingdom Hearts II

**"View of the Forsaken"**

**Chapter 2**

**"Lets Go"**

"Sora's late." Kairi muttered, crossing her arms under her chest. "And after you two goaded me into joining you."

"Hey, you brought it on yourself." Riku shot back as they stood on the bright sand of the beach.

"Riku! Kairi!" Sora called out, running towards them. They turned to look at the brunette boy running towards them. "I figured it out! I know what those weird clicks were!"

"Oh, you did, did you?" Riku asked as Sora stopped in front of them, his hands on his knees and trying to swallow down some oxygen. "Okay, genius. What were those weird clicks we were hearing all night?"

"Tumblers." Sora mumbled panting.

"You know, I didn't catch that."Riku told the brunette. "Why don't you look up and speak louder, dumbass?"

"Those clicks—they're _tumblers_!" Sora half snapped, standing up but still a little out of breath.

"Tumblers." Kairi repeated in disbelief with a slight scoff.

"Yeah—_tumblers_." Sora nodded. "Y'know, like in a _lock_ or in a _door_. Like the _doors_ I _locked_ all those other _worlds_ behind."

Riku saw what Sora was saying, his eyes growing wider. "Oh, God…"

"But this time, it was different. It wasn't like they were locking." Sora elaborated. "I know what _that_ sounds like. I couldn't get that sound out of my head even if I had _amnesia_."

"The doors—they're _unlocking_." Riku breathed, getting Sora to nod quickly. It was Riku's words that made Kairi finally understand what they were saying.

"You mean—you mean someone's unlocking all the doors again?" Kairi asked, a bit unsure and very uneasy.

"I'm afraid that it's _much_ more than just someone's unlocking the doors, Kairi."

"Huh?" Sora and Kairi turned to see the new arrival walking across the sand to meet them. "What? King Mickey?"

"Your Highness, what are you doing here?" Riku asked, a mix of joy to see his comrade and wariness at his presence in his voice.

"I'm afraid that the situation it's _just_ about the doors unlocking but _how_ they're being unlocked." King Mickey told the three teenagers, standing before them. "When the Heartless originally traveled through the doors to those other worlds, those with a connection to the Keyblade felt them be essentially kicked in but that isn't the case, not _this_ time."

"Someone with a Keyblade's been unlocking them." Sora earned nod.

"Yes, I'm afraid so." King Mickey conceded. "I came here to see if it was one of you, or possibly even your Nobody, Roxas, that was opening the doors."

"It's not one of us. We've just been using the Keyblades to spar on occasion." Sora said, shaking his head. "It wouldn't be enough to unlock the doors, right?"

"No, it wouldn't be enough to simply use them to fight." King Mickey shook his head. He let out a heavy sigh. "I was afraid of that. This doesn't bode well, especially if you haven't had contact with the Heartless since you locked the doors, Sora. That means it _can't_ be Roxas."

"What's the matter, King Mickey?" Kairi asked. "What means it can't be Roxas?"

"There have been reports of a member of Organization XIII wandering around the worlds that have been recently unlocked, inspecting the sites where battles concerning the lesser Nobodies have taken place." King Mickey informed the trio of friends before him. "I only became aware of this cloaked Nobody just recently myself, so I had thought those reports were nothing more than last residuals of their energy. That is, until I saw that very cloak in the library of Disney Castle, looking through Jimney's records and journals. We've done a catalog and we realized that all the records we have pertaining to Kingdom Hearts and to the battles have been copied."

"_All_ the records?" Riku repeated, getting a single solemn nod. "Even the records of our year in the Darkness?"

"Yes, even those." King Mickey nodded again. "And the guards I had posted at the ruins of the Castle of Oblivion have been severely injured. The ruins have been sifted through systematically and anything that could have helped us has gone missing, as has everything we had collected pertaining to the Nobodies."

"It's almost like someone doesn't want anyone to know that the Nobodies existed and are covering their tracks." Riku said, thinking aloud. "But…if they wanted to do that, why not come after us, the ones who are _responsible_ for their downfall?"

"Biding their time, maybe?" Sora offered.

"Yeah, maybe." Riku sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. "But something doesn't add up. It's been less than 6 months since we locked away the World That Never Was. If there was a surviving Nobody, why didn't they come out when we had defeated Xemnas and locked the World That Never Was when we were tired and our magic nearly depleted?"

"And that's exactly why I've been investigating these sightings myself." King Mickey explained. "Because something doesn't add up, there's something we're obviously overlooking but I can't tell what it is. I need your help, all 3 of you."

"All three of us?" Kairi repeated. "But I didn't hear what the boys heard."

"That maybe because your Keyblade's still new. You haven't had a chance to really strengthen it." Riku offered, getting a slight look that was somewhere between and scowl and a pout. He shot her a look back. "What? You summoned yours _once_, Kairi. Sora and I went against both the Heartless _and_ the Nobodies with ours. We've strengthened ours. You haven't. And it's just a theory. You don't need to give me that look."

King Mickey motioned towards the way he had come, turning to start back. "Follow me. I'll take you all to Radiant Garden, where everyone is waiting for us. Leon and Cloud are informing the others and Donald and Goofy are already there, looking for any clues with Ansem the Wise."

"Wait—you mean we're leaving right now?" Kairi asked surprised as both Riku and Sora started towards the direction King Mickey had indicated. "What about school? What about our families?"

"When we get to Radiant Garden, you and Tifa can bad mouth us and Cloud all you ladies want with Yuffie about Cid and Leon." Riku said dismissively as he hooked his arm around Sora's neck and started walking towards the royal mouse's path of arrival. King Mickey caught up to the boys to direct them properly.

Kairi sighed, huffing up her bangs a little. "I just _know_ I'm going to regret this." She hustled after the trio of males. "Wait up! I'm coming, too!"

* * *

And in the next chapter: we will get to see Leon and Cloud ARGUE!

...well, it's going to be more of a one-sided thing but yeah...

Please read and review. (cookie bribe still applies)


	3. New Cloak

Long overdue, longer than the others prior.

As an apology: **http:/ kazi-kun. livejournal. com/tag /fanfic**

Warning: Heavy Spoilage Still Applies!

**Review:**

**Taeniaea**: Thanks!

Here ya go...

* * *

Kingdom Hearts II

**"View of the Forsaken"**

**Chapter 3:**

**"New Cloak"**

"Remind _why_ we're checking out the site where Demyx went down." Leon asked as he and Cloud came to the end of the restoration site of Radiant Garden and paused before entering the castle gates.

"Because if this Nobody is checking out the sites of lesser Nobody conflicts, then reason dictates that he'd come to the sites of the battles with the _other_ cloaked Nobodies." Cloud answered simply.

"Yeah, I get that." Leon shot back. "I meant, why _us_?"

"Because had I left you at Merlin's house with Yuffie, you would have killed her." Cloud remarked as he headed towards the site of Demyx's last stand. "And then I would have had to kill you, which would have been a shame, since you're better with a sword than I would have expected—what with Sora kicking your ass with the Keyblade whenever you two clash."

Leon took the jab with a roll of his eyes as he followed the blond swordsman, who had stopped for some reason. "I'd like to see how well _you_ would do against him when he's gotten all that experience under his belt. I have a feeling I wouldn't be the only swordsman to fall to that kid."

"Squall." Cloud murmured softly, looking one way but speaking over his shoulder.

"I told you to stop calling me that. It's _Leon_." Leon corrected in a low voice. Cloud pointed towards the mosaic with one hand, the other gripping the hilt of his sword. Leon looked up and was surprised by the sight before them both.

The mysterious black Nobody cloak that had been seen around the worlds was _right_ in front of them, crouching to pick something off the ground. The cloak picked up something just a bit bigger than his black gloved hand. He inspected what he had picked up and picked up the smaller pieces as well. He put them in a black pouch he had taken out of somewhere and then closed the pouch, tucking it away into some hidden pocket of his cloak before standing. He turned towards the two swordsmen and suddenly stopped, jumping a little in surprise, like he hadn't expected them to be there.

"Care to explain what you're doing around here when Nobodies aren't welcome here in Radiant Garden?" Leon asked, summoning his Gunblade as he stepped forward.

The Cloak's posture shifted from surprised to something that resembled the typical "you wouldn't believe me if I told you" posture with the accompanied hand gestures. However, he didn't say anything, like he knew better than to speak.

"Try us. We're more understanding than you think." Cloud had experience dealing with Marlene and Denzel. Leon was going to let him play "Good Cop" since Yuffie had left him in a mood that all he had in him was "Bad Cop" and "Really Pissed off Guy with a Frickin' Big Sword and No Patience".

The Cloak shook his head dismissively with the accompanying "yeah, right" gesture. He _definitely_ wasn't about to speak. He was definitely smarter than the other cloaks, using body language and hand gestures to get his point across.

"What the hell did you pick up?" Leon half demanded, getting the Nobody before them to just sigh heavily and pinch the bridge of his nose. His face couldn't be seen and he didn't make any noise but the body language was clear enough—he thought they were being _unreasonable_. "Okay, I'm going to beat the crap out of him now."

The Nobody took a big step back, wagging his finger at Leon, going "Nah-ah-ah." Leon had only taken a step forward and this Nobody was backing off. Didn't this guy fight or was he just a big coward?

Wait, he was probably a long range fighter, which meant Leon had better get in close before he could attack.

The Nobody raised his hands to his shoulders, his posture noncombative but not surrendering either. He wasn't going to fight, which pissed Leon off to a degree, but he wasn't going to just start answering the questions they had either.

"You either surrender or I'm taking you in bleeding and broken." Leon warned the Cloak, the responding posture of arms crossed beneath the chest, half of his weight on his back leg and the small movement of rolling his head being his answer. Leon recognized someone rolling their eyes at him from seeing Yuffie do it enough…times…in fact, that was _exactly_ how Yuffie _did_ roll her eyes! "Shit…"

The Nobody moved into a neutral stance, giving away nothing, and then settled into a stance where his feet were slightly positioned differently and his hands were idly being held behind his back. _This_ was obviously natural and comfortable for the Nobody before the two men, meaning it was his natural stance.

"You've-you've been _watching_ us, haven't you?" Leon half demanded, getting a single, almost solemn nod in return. "…you knew that I was going to be…" Again, the Nobody nodded once. "Then you have eyes inside Merlin's house."

The Nobody made a sweeping gesture in front of himself with both his hands but the movement was easy to understand with the nod. He had eyes _everywhere_. How did you fight an enemy who had been spying on you and you didn't even _know_ it?

A Corridor of Darkness opened behind him and the Nobody stepped back into it, giving the two surprised men a little wave "goodbye" before the dark portal swallowed him up. Leon looked at Cloud and Cloud looked at Leon, a mutual thought in _both_ their eyes.

They needed _Sora_.

8-8

The Corridor of Darkness opened in Ansem's study and the Nobody stepped into the room backwards. The portal closed as the Nobody gave his previous acquaintances a dismissive wave. He turned to make sure no one was in the room with him and approached one of the bookshelves. He slid his fingers between the shelf and the wall and pulled it forward, making it swing outward and revealing what was behind it. The Nobody pulled on the shelf harder, making it swing out farther and then went to a knee in the space he had made behind it.

Behind the shelf was a recessed cubby that was full of papers in files, journals and boxes containing photographs and little scraps of paper with notes written on them. He passed his hand over a spot on the floor next to him and a small Corridor of Darkness appeared. He began to take the gathered information in the cubby out and place it on the portal of shadows, the items disappearing in a swirl of darkness. He quickly emptied the cubby and closed the Corridor before pushing the bookshelf back into place.

The Nobody dusted off his cloak front and then his hands as he looked towards the doorway that would lead to the computer. He silently crossed the room and paused at that doorway, looking back at the painting of Xehanort that was now on the floor. A slight slump curved his shoulders as he turned away and slipped out of the study. He quickly and quietly crept to the entrance of the computer room and hid the best he could by the doorway, peering in around the corner.

Ansem the Wise was at the controls and the King's Captain of Guards and the Court Sorcerer—who were _also_ comrades and companions of the Keyblade Master known as "Sora"—were with him, patiently waiting for whatever information he could provide.

Well, _they_ weren't going to be leaving anytime _soon_, _that_ was for sure. He would just have to come back later and get into the computer when no one was around. It would mean he'd have to wait but he had waited until now to act, so what was just a bit longer in comparison?

The Nobody crept back to the study, a Corridor of Darkness opening as he stepped back into the room. He stepped into the portal with a quick glance over his shoulder. None of them were coming after him, which meant aside from Cloud Strife and Squall Leonheart—err, _Leon_—stumbling across him, he had gone unnoticed and he had what he had come for anyway.

It was _high_ time he left before he was discovered a second time.

* * *

Huh...well, uh...um...

Actually, I'm not sure what to say to this without spoiling things.

Please, read and review!


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